Focused on the "Future of America" and the "American Dream" in the 21st Century.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

The American Dream and Our Future

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." - Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

The American Dream was once equated with certain principles like freedom, liberty, safety, justice, equality, and happiness. Today, it is often equated with things – like prosperity, material comforts, home ownership, higher wages, or career success.

My question is - What do we want the American Dream to really be? Can we [Americans] reach a general consensus on the direction we want our country to take and what our highest priorities ought to be as we head further into the 21 century? Will we be fearful of the future, or will our American Dream be a positive, hope filled vision of the future for America?

What are your thoughts? Please respond.

If the topic interests you, consider visiting the web site - America's Future: 2020-2050 at

2 comments:

FYI - James Truslow Adams (1878-1949) was an American writer and historian. He coined the term "American Dream" in his 1931 book The Epic of America. His American Dream is "That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." - See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Truslow_Adams

I believe to achieve the American Dream, we must put God's Will first and everything else is secondary. When we have our hearts centered upon what is really important from a universal perspective, our real individual purposes and plans begin to function correctly, as our personal perspectives and lives begin to line up with God's Will. But what does this mean specifically – what is expected, desired, or required of us in terms of our actions and thought? An article on "God's Will and the American Dream" that might be of interest to you is posted at - https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxhbWVyaWNhdmlzaW9uMjAyMHxneDo3MTNkMGIwYWQ1NWU5MWJm